[Elky64]

Used to be every two years, but since I stopped being at the mercy of a carrier's contract I have switched freely whenever I feel like it. That has me averaging about 3 times a year for the last 4 years, but I recently have slowed that down. I'm hoping to get down to once a year or every 18 months, but I am weak to new tech.

I was once weak too when it came to new tech but present smartphone pricing trends (more on the top tier side of things) had me taking a step back and rethinking my strategy. Looking back over a three year period I came to the realization the gains (for my needs) have actually been miniscule in the grand scheme of things, and that one does not need to spend big bucks on a device to git-er-done. Now if one's goal is to have something new and shiny that's a different matter.

[Daniyal Najmi]

Once every year.

[camaroz1985]

I was once weak too when it came to new tech but present smartphone pricing trends (more on the top tier side of things) had me taking a step back and rethinking my strategy. Looking back over a three year period I came to the realization the gains (for my needs) have actually been miniscule in the grand scheme of things, and that one does not need to spend big bucks on a device to git-er-done. Now if one's goal is to have something new and shiny that's a different matter.

I agree, and I tend to wait until the early adopters are moving on to something new then pick up the new stuff for half of what it was originally, and sell my old devices to offset the new one (that is a bonus to Apple products is that after the initial price hit, they don't drop that quickly). I don't NEED the latest and greatest, but I do like the new tech even just to try it out. I do agree that there aren't leaps and bounds in mobile tech like we once saw, so upgrading less often is easier.

[Elky64]

As you can see with my low-end phones, price is also a factor. I have never owned a flagship phone. As much as I would like to have something like an iPhone or a Galaxy S8, they’re just too expensive, as are the contracts too.

More and more price is becoming a deciding factor for many I believe. And think low-end/mid-range smartphones have evolved enough that one doesn't need the latest-n-greatest flagship to achieve a reasonable experience either. So although it may not be by choice we think you are in a better place than most... I just went mid-range and couldn't be happier and might even see what the low-end can deliver just for the sake of doing so, done forking out the BIG $$$.

[gwinegarden]

Not the slightest bit interested in dropping a grand or more every couple of years.

[MrockNroll]

I used to get one every 2 or 3 years, but the 950XL is my last smart phone. When this one dies, if I haven't got a not-Phone by then I'll get the cheapest phone I can find that will allow tethering. Some dumb phones can do this but they seem unbelievably difficult to actually buy. I do have a 930 and an 820 on hand to cover tethering until I can find out how tethering dumb phones are acquired. I shall use a small Windows tethered tablet with it.

[MrockNroll]

As long as my 950XL battery holds up, so far so good and my wife's Alcatel Idol4S keeps rocken iam fine. I've got my 940, 521 and her 925 and 650 all working and in good shape for spares until the surface un- phone is released so iam saving up for that now. :-)

[DrChucky]

Simple question here for the community - how often do you upgrade or switch phones?

Prior to W10M having the plug pulled, I used to get a new smartphone phone every 12-18 mos. Since my first smartphone purchase in 2010 this what I've own led as my daily drivers: E73->N9->Lumia 1020->Lumia 830->Lumia 950XL...and now I've been on hold 2+ years looking for a suitable replacement.

Given the rise in phone costs and minimal gains between yearly upgrades, I'm more likely to upgrade every 2 years. Looks like my next smartphone will be the Nokia 8 Sirocco or Nokia 8 Pro depending on the release timing.

[ManishKondaka]

my phone's usually stay well for many years. I think in 2-3 years, I switch my phone to a new one... mostly mid range phone's. not the 1000$ phones 😋

[DJCBS]

Simple question here for the community - how often do you upgrade or switch phones?

Back when phones were exciting, once a year or even more than once a year.
But since 2016 I haven't upgraded my daily driver. Still using the S7 because no phone was launched since that that's as good as that one.

I have got and bought a bunch of phones since then, but none of them was worthy of replacing the S7. And judging by the leaks so far, 2018 is setting itself to be another year without a phone worth upgrading from the S7.

If Nokia doesn't present something good, I'll probably buy a new S7 ('cause it's just easier than to buy a new battery, replace it etc).

[miketer]

I'm from the same camp. I never change a phone until and unless my most used apps doesn't run anymore or any reason that doesn't allow me to complete my day to day duties on the gadget. I used a Nokia 9500 for almost 6 years. It was built like a tank. Then came the E73 in my life in 2010, but a software update somewhere in the year of 2013 created a very irritating sharp squeak sound when I make a call. My ears used to get hurt. Then made a decision of buying a cheap Android phone - Samsung Duos,which didn't go down well due to its hanging problems. I couldn't stand it & within 9 months, I was forced to run away from it.
Next was a Nokia 920- year 2013, till today my beloved phone, perfect size and all. After a couple of years of use, due to water ingress, completely knocked off speaker phone capabilities. Still continued hanging on to it until someone offered me a Lumia 1520 for a mere USD 175/- in December 2015. Grabbed it with both hands and had a great time with it.
Slowly, the pressures of unavailability of certain apps that's used company wide due to our work was kicking in, like Salesforce, Ventures onsite. Still held on to it.
Then this past December, saw an ad on eBay for the Google pixel 2016, brand new for USD 400/-. Even if I was on windows for almost 5 years, everyday I used to read articles about all other OS and hence I knew what exactly is a Google pixel. Didn't waste time. Just checked whether it's an Intl version, took out my credit card and committed to the purchase. There's 1 more year of support left on this, but I'm not the kind who throws a phone away due to'no support'. If things work fine and if I don't get stuck anywhere for any reasons, this phone will be run to the ground, I can assure you all on that. I got my hands on it on Dec 20 and until now, I haven't restarted it:), something surprising amongst Android phones. And oh, that camera on the Pixel, it's just WOW.
I wish that this phone sticks with me as long as possible. I just HATE, just HATE to buy something, because it's a new colour, shape, a slight upgrade from a previous processor, a slightly more RAM etc. Windows and iOS had priced that you don't need huge RAM capacities to run an OS smoothly. I completely disagree with people who just upgrade for the sake of fashion, not giving a damn about the landfill, our world.

[miketer]

priced = shown. that was a typo

[Bloobed]

About every two years.

[donhackman]

Simple question here for the community - how often do you upgrade or switch phones?

I did the iPhone upgrade program through Apple. Every year in October I turn in my “old” phone and get the shiny new one. For anyone not wanting to venture out of the Apple ecosystem it is one of the best options out there.

[Maaz Mansori]

When I was using Windows phones, it was generally around every 2 years. I'm using an Android now (Google Pixel). I didn't upgrade to the Pixel 2 because there was no significant improvement over the original Pixel. I got the 128 GB model so storage is not really an issue. What matters to me is OS updates and carrier technology. I chose the Pixel primarily because it was the first to officially get OS updates and I'm not interested in an iPhone. If a phone stops getting OS updates because it is no longer supported then I buy a new one. If my carrier introduces a new technology (for example 5G) and it is available in my city, I'm tempted to upgrade to a device that supports that.

[BobiBolivia]

I am holding to my L650 until it is dead from firmware side.

I was recently toying to switch to Android phone (preferably Nokia), and I was even looking for experience of iPhone 8 users, but:

- so called "planned obsolence" on Android, where most of the phones will get only 2 major releases at most (and seeing how 8.0 and 8.1 are not as present as they should be), is serious deal-breaker for me - I don't want to be forced to buy phone every 2-3 years, because major manufacturers are lazy to support 3-4 major releases;
- and recent screw-ups from Apple with throttling phones to preserve battery life, and screwing up iOS updates also put Apple only as "curious to look on", but not a candidate for buying;

I am also toying with idea to just ditch smartphone altogether and buy some nice dual-SIM classic phone and nice camera - I bet I could adapt to it in short time.

[BanditoTR]

I buy a new one when either:
a. Phone breaks due to clumsiness
b. Battery doesn't last a full 9 hour day
c. It gets so slow I just can't stand it anymore

The first one is uncontrollable but for the other two options that might last for more than two years depending on the phone. When we could just replace the battery I didn't have to change phones at all. I used to use my old Nokia I bought in 2001 or 2002 until I bought a WP7 in 2010. After that I changed to an iPhone in 2012 because that battery died in like 5 hours and then changed that one in 2015 because it broke down. After that I had an accident in 2016 and I bought one that was a complete **** which brought me to buy my current one in November of the same year.

Don't change phones a lot when compared to my peers. Having said that I won't buy a cheap phone ever again, or at least one that doesn't have the current top processor.

[Elky64]

I am holding to my L650 until it is dead from firmware side.

I was recently toying to switch to Android phone (preferably Nokia), and I was even looking for experience of iPhone 8 users, but:

- so called "planned obsolence" on Android, where most of the phones will get only 2 major releases at most (and seeing how 8.0 and 8.1 are not as present as they should be), is serious deal-breaker for me - I don't want to be forced to buy phone every 2-3 years, because major manufacturers are lazy to support 3-4 major releases;
- and recent screw-ups from Apple with throttling phones to preserve battery life, and screwing up iOS updates also put Apple only as "curious to look on", but not a candidate for buying;

I am also toying with idea to just ditch smartphone altogether and buy some nice dual-SIM classic phone and nice camera - I bet I could adapt to it in short time.

That's somewhat of a misconception though. Because you don't get the latest OS and its features doesn't mean your device is any less functional from what it once was. I own a few 3-5+ year old Android devices running older versions of Droid and they are just as functional today as my newer devices because, there is NO app-gap. Yes at some point I'm sure that will become a factor just like any other platform.

[Cosmin Petrenciuc]

Once every two or three years. And I stay away from Apple products.

[BobiBolivia]

That's somewhat of a misconception though. Because you don't get the latest OS and its features doesn't mean your device is any less functional from what it once was. I own a few 3-5+ year old Android devices running older versions of Droid and they are just as functional today as my newer devices because, there is NO app-gap. Yes at some point I'm sure that will become a factor just like any other platform.

All valid points and I agree with you on them. However:

- when I buy device, I would expect manufacturers to milk the performance out of current chipsets before saying "yeah, this is too old now / no more room for improvement here without serious performance problems, you should buy a new device with newer chipset" - it is outright ridiculous that current devices with SD835 will probably not get Android beyond Android "P" (I base this assumption on how companies abandoned released device with only back-then-current Android release in the past) and devices with SD845 will probably start on Android Oreo 8.1 - ridiculous;

- sure, most 3-5+ years old devices are as functional as current devices, with one catch - have you seen security updates backported to older releases ? I didn't - and I would like to be proven wrong, because I am sure most Android 6.X devices did not see a single security update backported from, say, Android 7.1 (or 7.1.1) - and this is one of my main problems too - I don't want to buy device that will have support abandoned after 2-3 years - sure, I can go with Pixel devices (or any manufacturer that provides stock Android), but I want manufacturers to release security updates beyond official timelines - I did not buy XXX € device to fear hacking after 2 years, because "planned obsolence";

[LuxuryTouringZone]

I don't have a specific time interval for switching.

[Andrew G1]

It's crazy to buy a new phone every year. A huge waste of money. Even every 2 years is a stretch. But some people just gotta look cool. That's why there are people with $1000 phones driving Uber.

[Elky64]

All valid points and I agree with you on them. However:

- when I buy device, I would expect manufacturers to milk the performance out of current chipsets before saying "yeah, this is too old now / no more room for improvement here without serious performance problems, you should buy a new device with newer chipset" - it is outright ridiculous that current devices with SD835 will probably not get Android beyond Android "P" (I base this assumption on how companies abandoned released device with only back-then-current Android release in the past) and devices with SD845 will probably start on Android Oreo 8.1 - ridiculous;

- sure, most 3-5+ years old devices are as functional as current devices, with one catch - have you seen security updates backported to older releases ? I didn't - and I would like to be proven wrong, because I am sure most Android 6.X devices did not see a single security update backported from, say, Android 7.1 (or 7.1.1) - and this is one of my main problems too - I don't want to buy device that will have support abandoned after 2-3 years - sure, I can go with Pixel devices (or any manufacturer that provides stock Android), but I want manufacturers to release security updates beyond official timelines - I did not buy XXX € device to fear hacking after 2 years, because "planned obsolence";

Oh couldn't agree with you more on the dismal support and security aspects that has plagued Android since its inception. I was just pointing out that w/o updates one's device is still capable several years down the road. Whether one continues to use it "as is" may be another matter.

So yeah, I totally get where you are coming from yet none of this is new news when speaking Android. Does frustrate me to no end sometimes too but I've come to be acceptant of it because, choice is limited when it comes to what works best for me.

IMHO, if some of these manufactures are going to be charging such absorbent prices (flagships) there should be a prerequisite that support (OS/security) is a given for at least four years. But being that there are too many factors involved here highly doubt we'll be seeing this becoming mainstream for quite some time yet.

I don't get too overly excited about hacking because IMHO, no matter what platform one is using there's always that potential. If one is into tech (computers, tablets, phones, etc) they've already put themselves in the line of fire just by using those devices. Personally think we need to be more concerned about company's having their databases breached than our phones. And believe a little due diligence on the users part can go a long way in keeping themselves safer.

[Guytronic]

I've been buying a different device about every 9-10 months looking back thru my online purchase history. I usually don't buy the latest/greatest phones.
Thank goodness for all the Android phones otherwise I'd be SOL
Scheduling wise I'm past due...

[libra89]

I've been buying a different device about every 9-10 months looking back thru my online purchase history. I usually don't buy the latest/greatest phones.
Thank goodness for all the Android phones otherwise I'd be SOL
Scheduling wise I'm past due...

Haha!